Back on topic, do you think that the 24inch 4x24W would be enough to light a 30 gallon (36Lx12Wx16H)?

Yeah that should be enough. My current tank has the same dimensions except that it's 12 inches longer. I'll probably be dimming this wayyyyy down since it's pretty powerful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ach1Ll3sH33L

you might want to go higher with it on burn in phase, these things put out a ton of light. I have my photoperiod set like this on my 36x6
2 hours 0-75%
4 hours on 75%
2 hours 75%-0

I had them staggered so one channel would come on for an hour, then the other would come on but it seemed to look more progressive to ramp both channels up together. you might try a blue special bulb, or even a purple special, they make the tank pop a bit more in my opinion.

During the initial burn in period I have it going 4 hours then 4 hours off and then 4 hours on. So the photoperiod is split up into two 4 hour pieces. The nice thing about this light is that it's pretty much the same size as my tank so plants are growing upward.

The best thing for me would be to purchase a PAR meter and measure underwater to get an accurate reading.

This is one awesome light...today I finally set the timers where they started to dim. My break in period of running @ 100% is over.

Follow me here and you'll see why this light is amazing........

3pm: Light turns on
5pm: Light starts running @ 35% (this is the max that I have it set for)
5pm - 10pm - Light is running @ 35% still
10pm-11pm - Light starts to shut down to 0%
11pm - OFF

As soon as the light turns on at 3pm it starts to slowly increase in intensity from 1% all the way to 35% by the time it reaches 5pm. This simulates dawn. It's actually kind of cool to watch as it happens.

Right now I'm just playing around with the different possibilities to see how the plants respond. I just find it amazing that you tell the light what % intensity you want at a certain time and it will slowly move up/down to that % in a given assigned time period. When I first purchased this light I thought you would have to program the different % intensities at different times but the light does the calculation on its own. Once TomBarr starts his 60-P, he will hopefully help me out with the par readings as he just picked up the same light for the same tank.

I don't want to come across wrong but why would you even purchase such a high powered light for a 60-P?

On a saltwater tank that fixture would be amazing or a similar fixture on a large (deep) planted tank but why would you buy an incredible T5HO 4 bulb fixture for a 60-P? My 2 bulb T5HO fixtures on 20H tanks look like the noon sun in the Sahara.

It will be interesting to see how far back you have to dial the lighting by the time that it is all said and done.

I don't want to come across wrong but why would you even purchase such a high powered light for a 60-P?

On a saltwater tank that fixture would be amazing or a similar fixture on a large (deep) planted tank but why would you buy an incredible T5HO 4 bulb fixture for a 60-P? My 2 bulb T5HO fixtures on 20H tanks look like the noon sun in the Sahara.

It will be interesting to see how far back you have to dial the lighting by the time that it is all said and done.

Very good question....I wanted a light that would cover my entire tank so plants are growing straight up instead of reaching to the light source. It was an expensive light but not that bad for what it actually does. The auto dimming feature is amazing.

No scientific reseaon behind it but all my plants are doing great. On a side note....I pump so much co2 in this tank that fish cannot survive aside from my one swordtail that will probably die any day now.

If the light is unplugged (or plugged into a timer), do they remember their settings or are setting returned to factory defaults?

If I unplugged it the programmed settings always stayed. I think the time/date do reset after a while but do not recall. I actually sold this light not too long ago since it was too powerful for my setup. Best light I've ever used, hands down.

Since the light has a timer and all built into it, you do not need to use a separate timer etc.

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